LAKERS -at- NUGGETS - 5/29 - Thoughts and :-)) Ratings

sonimala · Posted: Sat May 30, 2009 12:56 am Post subject:

Thanks DB. Hope the big Dance can begin soon!

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Miami police will not arrest Dirk for stealing LeBron's ring. The victim never witnessed the crime since he left 12 mins before the theft. As tweeted by: The Bill Walton Trip

B_Rabbit1212 · Posted: Sat May 30, 2009 2:13 am Post subject:

A Mad Chinaman · Star Player Joined: 07 Apr 2005 Posts: 6166

Thanks DB

PJ made key coaching decisions such as taking out the Sasha/Farmar combination that resulted in J.R. getting hot with Kobe putting out the fire.

This is in addition to his "Box and Elbow" defensive schemes that clogged up the lane - like what you had stated>

Interesting thoughts as we consider the two teams that the Lakers might be facing:
** Cavs - if LeBron is playing the "4" - who could be effective on him. LO - he would have the length but not the strength; Kobe - he has height and weight on him; Josh Powell - at least he the toughness, size and fouls to use or Pau - he has the length and mobility, but does he have the quickness or strength.
** Magic - who will play Hedo/Lewis at the "3" - Ariza - he doesn't have the height though he has the quickness; Luke - doesn't have the foot speed or the height; Powell - has the strength, mobility and fouls or Kobe - has quickness and mobility, but not the height

Just thinking out loud

Nobody · Posted: Sat May 30, 2009 2:56 am Post subject:

Words cannot describe how immensely proud I am to be a Laker fan. Wow, what a freaking beatdown! I already watched the game twice and will watch it again.. simply beautiful. Here's hoping our boys manage to pull off only 4 more wins.

LAKERS!!!

Thanks for the writeup, I never even read nba/espn/yahoo/whatever recaps anymore because your's are so in depth and detailed. Bravo!

ElginBaylor · Posted: Sat May 30, 2009 5:08 am Post subject:

Who is this Jesus dude, and is he a free agent?
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Not a legend

Mr. EiGhTy-OnE · Posted: Sat May 30, 2009 5:43 am Post subject:

FOUR MORE
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"When (Kobe) gets you on life support, he won't give you mouth to mouth. HE PULLS THE PLUG." -stu

dcastillo · Star Player Joined: 20 May 2009 Posts: 2172

Finals baby!!! good job db as always cuz....proud of the lakers, ariza beat up the nuggets, pau and lamar put the gasoline, and kobe lit the fire!!

CMON lakers 4 more baby 4 more!!!!!!!!!

TooMuchMajicBuss · Posted: Sat May 30, 2009 6:55 am Post subject:

One comment on the coaching -- I started for the first time to truly doubt PJ had it in him anymore to coach at a championship level a few games ago. Wow was I wrong or what?? This was a brilliantly-coached game, from PJ and also from Kobe and our other vets showing leadership on the floor. PJ's matchups were solid, he pulled the team over immediately when he needed to, made effective substitutions to answer every Denver move, and the Lakers are finally sharing the ball and utilizing Pau and Kobe in a way that makes them unstoppable. The only thing I questioned was not seeing Shannon Brown earlier, but even there I can see the logic in keeping him fresh for the second half just in case we needed a spark or defensive shutdown from him to bury Denver.

Karl stated it well when he said the Lakers had a few cracks going into this series, but when Denver attempted to attack them the Lakers managed to cement those cracks and came out of this series the best team in the NBA.

Excellent points on Pau Gasol -- he kept that Spanish team in the Gold Medal match and challenged the US squad like no other team could, ONLY to get beaten when the US team turned to Kobe. How lucky are we to have both these players on our team??

prisma8slg · Posted: Sat May 30, 2009 7:03 am Post subject:

four more!!

thanks DB
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"I define success by championships, by winning..." Kobe Bryant

"I've seen it all. Sasha dunked on somebody," Kobe Bryant said. "I'm ready to retire now."

Rick12322 · Franchise Player Joined: 27 Jun 2005 Posts: 19164

Thanks for another colorful writeup, DB.

Karl's comment about "Jesus" was disrespectful to God and a foolish one.

What the Lakers figured out was when Kobe was doubled, Kobe knew when he saw the double, which Laker player was being doubled off of, and likewise for obvious reasons, the player being left knew where the spots were being left open and went to them. Both players knew where the open spots would be and even who would be there. Thats' the key. The same with Pau getting doubled, he knew when he saw the double, which Laker was left, and that Laker(sometimes LO) knew the spots that would be vacant in their overload system. We worked against their doubles with patience and to perfection, finding easy bucket after easy bucket, which I believe demoralized Denver. When Denver adjusted with single coverage on Kobe, it was the wrong adjustment because Kobe shredded their D.

One of the beautiful aspects of this game is how Denver was getting caught cheating. On one play, Dahntay Jones reached out and grabbed Bynum's leg, even lifting it off the ground. That was absurd and dirty, I think he got a tech on that play. Then there was the priceless play of Martin pinning Sasha's leg while Martin was on the ground, and Sasha calling the refs attention. It seemed like everyone of Denver's dirty plays backfired on them, unlike game 4 where they got away with it.
I said earlier that Denver is not an emotionally stable team and would crack if we played well. Well, all it really took was the Shannon Brown and Odom's great play ending the 3rd and most of the 4th of game 5 to shake their confidence. Then, our execution in game 6 just floored them.

Luca Brasi · Star Player Joined: 11 Jun 2005 Posts: 4207

ExiledFromCA · Sixth Man Joined: 12 Dec 2008 Posts: 62

PakaLOLO · Starting Rotation Joined: 01 Sep 2004 Posts: 732

Thxs!

IPK · Star Player Joined: 19 Feb 2008 Posts: 6859

SoCaLjAy · Posted: Sat May 30, 2009 10:35 am Post subject:

That game was good times! Back to the finals for a shot at redemption!

Thanks DB, awesome write up as usual!

kenkoy · Posted: Sat May 30, 2009 10:57 am Post subject:

This game reminded me of those "surgically precise" beatdowns that the 3-peat teams (Shaq,Kobe, et al) administered to the Kings and Spurs, in their playoff series...

Rick12322 · Franchise Player Joined: 27 Jun 2005 Posts: 19164

Klone_dd · Star Player Joined: 11 Mar 2002 Posts: 7330

Nugs got exposed, plain and simple. Or rather, they became who we knew they were.

The Lakers were very patient, something they picked up on in Game 5. An extra pass here and there forced the Nugs to the chicken dance and shooters were left wide open. Then the emotion the Nugs play with choked them down.

Kobe was sensational. Near perfection in every aspect. As was Pau. It's nice to hear him getting the recognition of being a world-class player.

Great contributions by all (not named JoFar). I really liked the lack of celebration in receiving the WC trophy. Really, who cares about that thing? There's only one trophy worth having and the Lakers looked focused and determined to get it.

LA1969 · Posted: Sat May 30, 2009 12:18 pm Post subject:

Great win! Just what I was hoping for. Last night my heart soared and today I'm basking in the afterglow.

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"Time wounds all heels". -John Lennon

ThePageDude · Star Player Joined: 25 Jul 2002 Posts: 2606

This has to be one of the best games I have seen Kobe play as a *complete* player. I was in awe thoughout the game of how he was dominating and controlling the game.

lakerfn4lfe · Posted: Sat May 30, 2009 2:43 pm Post subject:

He has had some complete and incredible games in the past and especially in the regular season. But this game was truly Jordanesque and if he can continue to play at this high level it will be a very long series with Orlando or Cleveland.

bryants2hot2handle · Star Player Joined: 09 Jan 2007 Posts: 5411

thanks DB. onto the finals. 4 more to go....

LakerLanny · Retired Number Joined: 24 Oct 2001 Posts: 47595

Great writeup DB, great game. One of my favorites in a long time.

Unsung heroes.

Derek Fisher - His defense on Billups all series was actually quite solid, contrary to popular opinion.

Luke Walton - I have been hard on him, but he showed up big in a big road game.

Shannon Brown - Sits until the 4th qtr, yet comes out ready to play. Billups struggled against his strong D also.
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Love, Laker Lanny

squidward · Starting Rotation Joined: 26 May 2009 Posts: 144

Some more unsung heroes:

The refs, they did their jobs last night. They made some good calls and no calls. Although, to be honest, Bynum has to do a better job at not committing illegal screens.

Mr. EiGhTy-OnE · Posted: Wed Jun 03, 2009 6:55 am Post subject:

"...and when you put the kids to bed, you gotta turn off the TV. Lamar Odom just turned off the TV!" -JVG
_________________
"When (Kobe) gets you on life support, he won't give you mouth to mouth. HE PULLS THE PLUG." -stu